Christmas Greetings for The Paper Players

It’s hard to believe that The Paper Players are celebrating challenge number twenty! Lesley, our hostess this week, has created a lovely sketch for you to follow:

Notice that I flipped my sketch for today’s card. It is perfectly fine to do so. The vertical rendition fits the design I was envisioning. I hope that you enjoy this quick and easy card!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

  • Layer the labels for contrast! The Crumb Cake Decorative Label would blend too much with the Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper if left by itself. However, a second label, punched from Cherry Cobbler adds the perfect “punch” of color!

  • Elegant bling! Basic Pearls are perfect for accentuating the bands of the bells!

  • Quick and easy bow! A quick and easy Cherry Cobbler bow fashioned from 1/2″ Seam Binding completes the look. To view my video tutorial on how to create this bow, simply CLICK HERE!

I will be anxious to see what you create this week using Lesley’s lovely sketch! For more inspirational cards from our Design Team, be sure to visit The Paper Players. And remember, if you ever have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, please don’t hesitate to email me.


Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Grateful Greetings; Ink: Early Espresso; Designer Series Paper: Deck the Halls; Card Stock: Soft Suede, Brushed Gold, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake; Tools: Decorative Label Punch; Glitz and Glam: Basic Pearls, Cherry Cobbler 1/2″ Seam Binding

French Foliage for Pals Paper Arts


I love Fall! Without a doubt it is my favorite season! So I was thrilled that this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge was an Inspiration Challenge based on this photo:
Spying leaves in the picture, I immediately jumped at the chance to create a card using the French Foliage set and the Faux Silk technique. I had plans to share a Faux Silk video tutorial with you today, but Muffy the Boxer had her own agenda, and it did not include having “mom” film a tutorial. So in the meantime, will you settle for a link to a pictorial that I prepared earlier? I will discuss with Muffy how we just can’t play, eat, sleep in mom’s arms and potty all the time!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

  • Faux silk…so easy! All it takes is tissue paper, liquid adhesive (like Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue), and card stock. A) Crumple the tissue paper, unfold, and smooth it. B) Coat your card stock with the liquid adhesive. C) Adhere the tissue paper to the card stock and allow it to dry! Wrinkles are permissible, and add to the charm. Here is the link to the Faux Silk Pictorial.
  • Brayering! Don’t you just love the look of the Cajun Craze vertical mat? I simply brayered Cajun Craze ink onto Very Vanilla, and then stamped the “Script” from French Foliage in Early Espresso. A few “Waterspots” and “Post Marks” complete this card element.
  • Random stamping! More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke leaves are randomly stamped on the Faux Silk. Soft Suede “Waterspots” help to fill in the bare places.
  • Distress! A Sponge Dauber and Soft Suede ink is used to burnish the edges of all of the layers, while a Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker and Color Spritzer Tool add “age spots”. Hint: Soft Suede provides a softer, more authentic look than Early Espresso or Chocolate Chip.
  • A stitch in time! The Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch is tailor-made for cross-stitching! Try Stampin’ Up’s Linen Thread for a touch of texture!
  • Layer the labels! The “Merci Beaucoup” sentiment from Sinceres Salutations, the French counterpart of Sincere Salutations, was inked in Early Espresso and stamped onto More Mustard card stock. It was then punched with the Decorative Label Punch, and stamped with the Waterspot and Post Mark stamps. A second Decorative Label Punch was punched from Always Artichoke. It was cut in half horizontally and adhered to the bottom of the More Mustard punch.
I hope that you will join us in this week’s challenge! I am so looking forward to your projects! But before you head off to create, won’t you please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of today’s card? And remember, if you any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

Click Here to Purchase Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Sets: French Foliage (W 120845, C 121166), Sinceres Salutations (116239); Inks: Soft Suede (115657), Early Espresso (119670), Cajun Craze (119671), Always Artichoke (105219), Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker (120973); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Always Artichoke (105119), More Mustard (100946), Cajun Craze (119684); Tools: Brayer (102395), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Color Spritzer Tool (107066); Glitz and Glam: Linen Thread (104199)

Muffy the Boxer and PPA Peek

You are looking at the reason I have no card to post today! “Muffy the Boxer” arrived at her forever home late Tuesday afternoon. It was a bittersweet day of sorts, as this marks the end of the “Missy the Boxer” era. But, Missy will live forever in my heart.

Muffy really has beautiful brown eyes…but I don’t have a “Doggie Blue-Eye” Fixer!

It is amazing how we canonize our pets after they are gone. Monday evening, as we reminisced about Missy, I remembered her as a natural at leash training. My husband reminded me that she used to drag me down the street when we first started out. I remembered Missy as a “snuggle-bunny” in bed, and once again my husband reminded me of how more than once we woke up freezing because a certain “somedog” had managed to weasel all of the covers during our bitterly cold Iowa winter nights! I remember the wonderful car rides, and seemed to forget the trips that we made where I ended up with 55-pounds of Boxer butt on my lap. I remember a well-mannered lady, who never tore up a thing…except for Brady’s Homecoming King crown! But I attributed that to sibling rivalry!


Muffy with Dad

As I write this short post, I have another sweet lady on my lap, and am typing this post with one hand. Obviously this will have to change, but for this evening I wouldn’t change a thing. Muffy is everything for which I could have asked. She’s an adorable, “puppy-kisses-in-the-face” type of baby. She’s “swassy”…both sweet and sassy. In the eight hours that we have had her, she has pottied outside five times with NO mistakes! She is training me well! She has learned to sit already, and stands quietly to have her “necklace” put on…we don’t call them collars at the Schach house! And she has done an amazing job at walking on the leash.

I can already tell that she is going to be another Velcro dog, and I am just fine with that! She will be my muse, just as another Boxer was for so many years. I had always promised Missy that we would have so much fun when I retired…now I will have to keep that promise with Muffy!

Although I don’t have a full card to share with you, I can share with you a snippet of my Pals Paper Arts card. I really enjoyed making it, and I hope that you will join me in it’s full reveal tomorrow!

Until next time…


Please Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7